Geylang cleanup leads to vice in heartland

• Clivebenss

  5 May 10, 23:27

  Geylang cleanup leads to vice in heartland - The Straits Times

  By Sujin Thomas

  WHETHER in Marine Parade or Bedok, Kovan or online, prostitutes are making their presence felt.

  No longer are they plying their trade in traditional red-light districts such as Geylang, going by police vice raids over the past few months.

  Their forays into the HDB heartland are upsetting MPs, who think that, among other things, the 'cleanup' of Geylang has simply led to the pimps and prostitutes moving elsewhere.

  MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC Baey Yam Keng said: 'They are spilling out because of the raids. People accept what they do in Geylang, but may not be used to it elsewhere.'

  A bigger concern they have is whether more will enter Singapore with the establishment of the two integrated resorts and the influx of gamblers and high-rollers the IRs are expected to bring in.

  Mr Baey said: 'Singapore has always been welcoming to tourists who may seek different sorts of pleasure activities. When demand goes up, so will supply.'

  Already, the numbers are not good: A total of 7,614 foreign women were arrested for vice-related activities last year, up from 5,047 in 2008.

  Yesterday, police said 60 Chinese women had been arrested for offences such as vice activities at 32 unlicensed massage parlours in Bedok, Tampines and Marine Parade. They were nabbed over a 15-day operation in March.

  Anti-vice raids had been carried out in Geylang, Kovan and two budget hotels at Balestier Road, in which 12 foreigners were arrested.

  Some of those arrested had also hawked their sexual services online: Customers made an online booking and turned up at an appointed time at a pre-arranged hotel room, mostly in budget hotels in Bugis, Lavender and Little India.

  On April 21, budget hotel owner Siah Chen Long, 52, was convicted of allowing prostitutes to carry out vice activities in his hotel, Shing Hotel, at Kitchener Road.

  A day after, police raided a budget hotel at Lavender Street and caught 38 women for vice activities.

  Criminal Investigation Department director Ng Boon Gay had said then: 'Vice operators who think they can operate freely under the anonymity of the Internet are sadly mistaken. We will continue to clamp down on syndicates and hotel operators who knowingly facilitate such illicit activities.'

  The authorities had long held the view that vice could not be eradicated completely, and the strategy was to contain these activities within traditional red-light areas.

  But pimps and prostitutes, both licensed and illegal, who do their business in Geylang say the police are coming down hard on them. A pimp who runs a brothel with Thai women said: 'Anti-vice officers raid a few times a day. It has affected our business as everyone scatters. We don't see as many streetwalkers these days as we used to.'

  He said many streetwalkers had moved out of Geylang over the past two years into areas such as Balestier to get out of the eye of the authorities.

  Asked about their vigorous enforcement in Geylang, a police spokesman said they have always taken a tough stand against vice activities 'regardless of where they occur'.

  Lawyers said the crackdown in Geylang can be attributed to the influx of foreign prostitutes who come here on social visit passes.

  But why hit Geylang so hard only to send the prostitutes moving to the heartland to ply their trade?

  Lawyer Chia Boon Teck said: 'Residents and prostitutes in Geylang have always adopted a live-and-let-live attitude. But when the number of prostitutes rises and they become so blatant about it, the police have to do something.'

  Lawyer Shashi Nathan suggested another possibility: The amendment to the Penal Code in 2008, which makes it illegal for anyone to obtain sexual services from someone under 18. He said: 'What the police are doing could well be about keeping controls in place, that is, to clamp down on unlicensed pimps who bring in young girls and then live off their earnings.'

  MPs, such as Ms Lee Bee Wah of Ang Mo Kio GRC, said police are taking action because of residents' complaints about vice activities in their neighbourhoods.

  She said: 'Their numbers may have gone up, and so complaints have too. Obviously, they (pimps and prostitutes) will go wherever they think there is business. If we don't do anything about it, it will get worse.'

  Mr Christopher De Souza, an MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, said the raids send the 'right signal' that vice in the heartland will not be tolerated.

  Both he and Ms Cynthia Phua, an MP for Aljunied GRC, want some curbs on the establishment of budget or 'transit' hotels.

  Mr De Souza suggested banning hotels from operating on an hourly rate in all residential areas. He said: 'Transit rates are a euphemism for hourly rates. Why would any traveller transiting here for an hour or so need to put up in a hotel about an hour away from the airport?'

  Ms Phua is perturbed that two budget hotels have been allowed to operate between Upper Serangoon Road and Sireh Place.

  She told The Straits Times: 'Residents have to come face-to-face with these activities, even if it may just appear to be a couple walking in and out (of the hotel).'

• Mr Milo

  5 May 10, 23:29

   

  wah........then those ah pek no need travel so far loh

  they can just sit down in the void deck can liao

• Clivebenss

  5 May 10, 23:30

  Originally posted by Mr Milo:

   

  wah........then those ah pek no need travel so far loh

  they can just sit down in the void deck can liao

  I think so.

  

• charlize

  5 May 10, 23:33

  How can we truly be a Sin City if there are no vices in the neighbourhoods?

   

  How?

• Clivebenss

  5 May 10, 23:36

  Originally posted by charlize:

  How can we truly be a Sin City if there are no vices in the neighbourhoods?

   

  How?

  decentralisation.

  

• Rooney9

  5 May 10, 23:37

  the 2 weeks visa for tourists lar. these hookers are from the region ie thailand, cambodia, vietnam, prc, come here on a pretext for being a tourists, engaged on vice activities while here. they come to singapore looking to earn a quick buck before going home.

• Devil7030

  5 May 10, 23:37

  Originally posted by Mr Milo:

   

  wah........then those ah pek no need travel so far loh

  they can just sit down in the void deck can liao

  One needle pricks, see blood.

• Mr Milo

  5 May 10, 23:37

   

  any way to make them stay and increase sg population?

• Clivebenss

  5 May 10, 23:39

  Originally posted by Mr Milo:

   

  any way to make them stay and increase sg population?

  you are taking it one step further.

  from heartland to household.

  

   

• Mr Milo

  5 May 10, 23:43

  Originally posted by Clivebenss:

  you are taking it one step further.

  from heartland to household.

  

   

  
  i am saying this cos got a few unfortunate couple in this situation

  i luv u, u luv me,

  but cannot stay cos she is prositutite and a foreigner as well

  so sad

  :-(

• Devil7030

  5 May 10, 23:53

  Originally posted by Clivebenss:

  you are taking it one step further.

  from heartland to household.

   

   

  may be also more babies.

• Rooney9

  5 May 10, 23:56

  how is the government going to solve this vice? I dun see this vice thingy in the 1990s. when the government start issuing visa for 2 weeks the problem occurred. so spore is a target for these people to come to spore out to earn a quick buck, go back to their country and later come back again on a tourist visa. this problem is of their own making.

• Mr Milo

  5 May 10, 23:58

   

  it will not be solved

  cos man got desire what

  even those elites or whatsoever

  so yah, it is set to stay

   

• Clivebenss

  6 May 10, 00:01

  Originally posted by Mr Milo:

   

  it will not be solved

  cos man got desire what

  even those elites or whatsoever

  so yah, it is set to stay

   

  Remember the drowning of the pros at Sentosa Cove?

  Elites wanna have fun.

  

• Rooney9

  6 May 10, 00:02

  u dun see this problem in the 1990s. only malaysians chinese and thais were allowed to operate in geylang as prostitutes then. now u get to see all kinds of foreign girls working as prostitutes in spore and they dun do medical checkout unlike those in geylang. now its so prevalent that it extended to ktvs and pubs even.

• Devil7030

  6 May 10, 00:12

  The problem is that "pros biz" is not allowed to expand legally. There are more people ie foreign workers, foreign talents, tourists from the two integrated resorts but yet the "pros biz" are not allowed to expand and vary its product mix and take in more and varied legal "pros" and hence the extra illegal "pros" use their own creativity to do their biz and the situation gets out of proper control.

• CheckmateA1

  6 May 10, 05:59

  Naked China: Out of Control

  http://current.com/shows/vanguard/76372902_naked-china-out-of-control.htm

  They would still come here.

  Must enforce stricter sentence on them.

  So that, they would dare do such activies here.

• CheckmateA1

  6 May 10, 06:05

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  网民炮轰：她与妓女有何��？

   

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  ä¸�少看了访谈录åƒ�的网民，对女陪游的言论很ä¸�屑。有人嘲讽：“她的工作和妓女å�–淫，实质上有ä¸�å�Œå�—？自扮高级，就能抬高身价？”

  更有网民直指，和人上床，一旦收钱就等于å�–淫，“陪游”å�ªæ˜¯ç¾Žå…¶å��。

  http://news.omy.sg/News/Local%2BNews/Story/OMYStory201004261438-146836.html

  http://news.omy.sg/News/Local%2BNews/Story/OMYStory201004261438-146836/2.html

  One typical SLUT!

• godchuanz

  6 May 10, 10:05

  I think it's not about the Geylang cleanup, but that Singapore had been too liberal with its immigration policy.  More and more foreign women are entering our country seeking better lives, and willing to do anything.

  Of course, the problem is not the foreigners, it's with the values that some of them bring in.  So now rather than just a cleanup in Geylang, we might really need an island-wide cleanup.

• CheckmateA1

  6 May 10, 10:09

  Originally posted by godchuanz:

  I think it's not about the Geylang cleanup, but that Singapore had been too liberal with its immigration policy.  More and more foreign women are entering our country seeking better lives, and willing to do anything.

  Of course, the problem is not the foreigners, it's with the values that some of them bring in.  So now rather than just a cleanup in Geylang, we might really need an island-wide cleanup.

  that's right

  enter through social visit pass

   

• the Bear

  6 May 10, 10:24

  Originally posted by CheckmateA1:

  that's right

  enter through social visit pass

   

  
  so... please give the authorities a solution without incurring the wrath of everyone

  if the immigration people refuse entry to a bunch of women saying they are suspect.. you'll see all kinds of people rushing to hammer the immigration people, saying they are biased, racist, typecasting, insensitive.. all that..

  and worse, i'll bet that STB will hammer the immigration people for doing it too..

  while you people who advocate this will probably slink into the shadows and refuse to even speak up for what you rant and rave over the anonymous interweb....

  look.. i hate it that when i walk about trying to do some grocery shopping in the town centres and i get accosted by these vice workers too... but short of letting the immigration people wield a heavy hand, what are the solutions to stop these people coming in?

  please see what is happening in Arizona now..

• CheckmateA1

  6 May 10, 10:28

  Originally posted by the Bear:

  
  so... please give the authorities a solution without incurring the wrath of everyone

  if the immigration people refuse entry to a bunch of women saying they are suspect.. you'll see all kinds of people rushing to hammer the immigration people, saying they are biased, racist, typecasting, insensitive.. all that..

  and worse, i'll bet that STB will hammer the immigration people for doing it too..

  while you people who advocate this will probably slink into the shadows and refuse to even speak up for what you rant and rave over the anonymous interweb....

  look.. i hate it that when i walk about trying to do some grocery shopping in the town centres and i get accosted by these vice workers too... but short of letting the immigration people wield a heavy hand, what are the solutions to stop these people coming in?

  please see what is happening in Arizona now..

  from geylang to fortune centre level 3 that pissed me off

  when i am trying to buy some goods at level 4

• the Bear

  6 May 10, 10:30

  Originally posted by CheckmateA1:

  from geylang to fortune centre level 3 that pissed me off

  when i am trying to buy some goods at level 4

  
  yeah.. i know the feeling.. walking around trying to buy stuff, and get accosted by vice worker..

  but.. do you have any solutions at all?

• CheckmateA1

  6 May 10, 10:32

  Originally posted by the Bear:

  
  yeah.. i know the feeling.. walking around trying to buy stuff, and get accosted by vice worker..

  but.. do you have any solutions at all?

  
  i called the police to raid them

  why 3 message parlour

  went all the way to come down and buy goods.

  yet, i encounter this type of nonsense

• the Bear

  6 May 10, 10:34

  Originally posted by CheckmateA1:

  
  i called the police to raid them

  why 3 message parlour

  went all the way to come down and buy goods.

  yet, i encounter this type of nonsense

  
  i think these types of raids are the things that drove them from the red light districts to the housing estates...